Zimbabwe official says 1 dead, 15 hurt in Mugabe motorcade accident

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Robert Mugabe pictured during a rally to mark his birthday in February 2012.

Story highlights

State media reported on the Sunday accident, a police spokesman tells CNN

It was the third accident involving Mugabe's motorcade in the past two weeks

Activists network: "Should he slow down or is it up to us to get out of the way?"

Police official blames "unruly elements" for accident, state media report

Police in Zimbabwe on Tuesday confirmed that one person was killed and 15 injured in an accident involving President Robert Mugabe's motorcade on Sunday.

Zimbabwe's police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed to CNN that an accident had been reported by state media.

"I can only confirm on Tuesday if there are new details. So far all I know is that one passenger who was in a commuter bus died on the spot and 15 passengers from the two vehicles sustained injuries," Bvudzijena said when asked to confirm reports of two more deaths in the incident.

The accident was the third in two weeks involving the 88-year-old Zimbabwean leader's motorcade, which consists of about 15 vehicles, including a Mercedes limousine, motorcycles and army vehicles. The motorcade travels at high speeds and all traffic is expected to make way for it.

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Kubatana, an online network for Zimbabwean activists, on Tuesday sent an SMS message saying: "Mugabe's motorcade has been in three crashes in past month causing death and injury. Should he slow down or is it up to us to get out of the way? Let us know."

All three accidents happened in Mugabe's rural home district, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Harare in Mashonaland West province.